the one with the kindness of strangers
by Flying Squad
Summary: A rachelchandler fanfic. Rachel leaves her abusive husband and the kindness of a stranger leads to a new beginning
1. Default Chapter

_This is a Rachel and Chandler fan fiction. Rachel leaves her abusive husband for a new life in the city, where the kindness of a stranger gives her a new beginning._

The one with the kindness of strangers

"Rachel! Get in here!" shouted Barry, angrily. Rachel hurried into the bedroom, scared to keep him waiting. He didn't like to wait. It made him mad. She knew all about him being mad, and it hurt. "Yes dear?" she asked, a lump forming in her throat. "Get here!" he was angry, it scared her. "I saw you flirting with that guy at the bar today!". The bar. It was Barry's favourite hang-out. The place where all his anger ignited. Rachel was the release for all the anger, the target, the punch bag, the victim. There were so many names for people like her. One sprang to Rachel's mind. Weak. Weak for putting up with it. Weak for believing he was sorry, he was repentant, he would never do it again, but he did and that was the factor that put Rachel in a bracket. A bracket of women who were bullied and attacked by their husbands. She hated this so much. This was more painful than any cut, bruise or broken bone. "I wasn't! I swear!". He grabbed her wrist, pulling her down to the bed. He slapped her hard across the face. She didn't even feel a tear come to her eye because she knew that this wasn't over. He swung her into the wardrobe, breaking one or two of her ribs. She tried to escape his grip, pulling harder and harder, but his hand just grip tighter. Finally, she broke free. Running for the door, he grabbed her foot, pulling her to the floor. He kicked her. She broke free once more and ran for the door. She slammed it in his face, running for the apartment door. She slammed that, not before grabbing her purse, and run for her life. For once, Barry didn't follow, knowing if he did, he would cause a scene. She ran and ran as far as her legs would carry her without buckling under the pain of the attack. She collapsed in a doorway in pain, clutching her chest in pain. She couldn't breathe. The force of being pushed into the wardrobe felt like it was crushing her lungs. She started to cry, weeping tears that she was so familiar with. Suddenly the door opened. "Are you okay?" asked a man from above her. He had a take-out latte in his left hand and a briefcase in the other. He was dressed in office wear and his hair was neatly cut. He stared at her, she was still clutching her chest in pain and could barely speak, so weakly shook her head. He put down his briefcase and coffee and sat down beside her. "What's the matter?" he asked, anxiously. He swept her hair away from her face, revealing a bruise where Rob had slapped her. She then slowly lifted her shirt, where the skin covering her ribs was bruised purple, almost black. "I.....can't...breathe" she whispered in pain. "Oh my God! We have to call an ambulance!" He pulled her up, letting her lean on him and led her into the coffeehouse, of which she had been in the doorway of. Central Perk. He shifted some people of the sofa so that she could lie down. "Gunther, call an ambulance!" he shouted. "What's your name, sweetie?, the paramedics will need to know". She could hardly speak at all but managed to say 'Rach..' before running out of breath. "Rachel?" he asked, interpreting this correctly. She nodded. "I'm Chandler Bing, okay, the paramedics will be here soon". She smiled, as he stroked her face, relaxing her. She was finally free of her marriage and this was a new beginning.


	2. the one with the glimmer of hope

_Part two of the one with the kindness of strangers. Chandler takes Rachel to the ER, where she finally decides to report her abusive husband to the police. Realising she has nowhere to live, Chandler offers her a room,, which Rachel accepts, realising she's in the real world now. (FYI: Chandler lives in apartment 19 alone and Monica doesn't live in apartment 20, and none of the gang are involved in this story, except Rachel and Chandler)._

The one with the glimmer of hope.

"Okay, Rachel, this will help you breathe". said the paramedic, hooking her up to an airbag. Chandler watched on in horror, as Rachel was given air. He was scared of what was going on. The paramedics were talking about internal bleeding and surgery, which scared the hell out of him, not to mention Rachel. She was crying, tears spilling down her face as they spoke. She gripped Chandler's handed as tight as she could. He stroked her face and hair out of her eyes. Her eyes, he thought. Deep pools of blue, spilling tears as she cried with fear. Finally, they arrived at the hospital. The paramedics led her out on the stretcher, through to ER. Chandler was left to wait in the relative's room. He had lied on the way here and told them he was her brother. He had nodded off in the relative's rooms, when a doctor came in telling him that Rachel was fine. A smile sprawled his face and he asked to see her. He and Dr. Ryder entered the room, where Rachel was laying, staring at the pale blue ceiling. "Rachel Farber?". Rachel nodded. "So what was it this time? Walked into a shelf, tripped over a slipper?" the doctor asked sarcastically, knowing that her husband had beaten her up. Again. It wasn't the first time she had been admitted to the ward, but these were definitely her worst injuries. "No. My husband Barry did this. He slapped me hard and then slammed my into a wardrobe, so I guess you need to call the police, right?" Chandler looked heartbroken. How could someone do something to someone so wonderful?. "Oh, I'm sorry" apologised the doctor. "I'll get the police". Rachel looked at Chandler. "Thank you" she whispered "Umm, can you do something, can you call my mom for me and ask her if I can stay with her?". Chandler looked shocked. "You don't have anywhere to stay?" he asked. "No. I've just left my husband. I have no home, no job, no clothes, no money" she sobbed, drying her eyes on the blanket that was on her bed. "Well, you can stay with me" he said, offering her a glimmer of hope. "Really?" she said, finally her luck was changing, she had met an amazing man, who had helped her and now was giving her a place to live. "What about rent though, I have no job. I'm not qualified for anything". chandler just shook his head. "It doesn't matter, you can live at mine rent-free until you get a job, what do you wanna do as a profession? What was your last job?" he asked, not expecting the answer he got. "I've never had one". He looked at her, trying not to be shocked. "Doesn't matter, can you type?" she nodded "a little, I mean I was actually quite good in high school" she said, smiling. This was the first time Chandler had seen her compliment herself. "Okay, you can be my secretary!". He said. She suddenly felt a bout of self-esteem hit her. "Really?!?, great!, thank you, and I'll get you new stuff, I just got a raise at work, so I can max out a bit!" he said, laughing. Rachel smiled. She thanked him again and thought about her new life away from the evil orthodontist. Wow, she thought to herself. Chandler Bing was a perfect gentleman. He was kind, attractive, generous and loving. This was her lucky day. It was her destiny to meet him. They were meant to be together. Love only happens once, but this was her second chance.


	3. the one with the open book

_Part three. Final part unless people want me to continue. If you do then please review. Thanks. Ok, so Rachel has moved in with Chandler and she is falling in love with him. Will his feelings comprehend with hers? Better find out._

The one with the open book

Rachel sat on the sofa in Chandler's apartment. She had only been there for two and a half hours, but she was tense and really worried about the impending visit from the police. They were going to interview her about her husband Barry abusing her. It scared her. Chandler wanted to be there but the police said they needed to talk to Rachel alone, so he stayed away. There was a knock at the door. Rachel got up and answered the door. The two officers stepped in. Officer Peters and Officer Davidson stepped in. Officer Danielson was carrying a briefcase, containing the photos the doctors took of her injuries from all of her hospital visits. She hadn't been able to talk to the police before because she was too upset, so Chandler said they could meet at the apartment. He had been so sweet to Rachel. Giving her a room, a job and a new start. She was falling head-over-heels in love with him and it was slowly crushing her soul. The pain of not having her was worse than any injury Barry had inflicted on her. She told the police everything. She cried, pouring her heart out to the cops, recalling all of her torture. Suddenly, Chandler walked through the door. He saw Rachel crying and went to console her. She was hysterical, recalling all the details to the police. He hugged her tight, rocking her gently.

He was in love with her so much. He couldn't tell her though. It wasn't fair. She had just left her husband. It wasn't fair, he told himself. "You better go, I mean she's upset" he told the officers. "It's okay, we've got all we need, thank you Mrs. Farber". Rachel shook her head "oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Greene" She smiled. Chandler showed the cops out. "Rachel, there's something that's been eating me up inside, I think, I mean, I know. I'm in love with you". Rachel stared at him, and smiled. "Oh, Chandler. I love you too, with you, I'm an open book. I am truly, madly, deeply in love with you, so shut up and kiss me, right here, right now".

"Right now, right here?" he asked. He leaned in to kiss her passionately, their love filling the room. A new start. Wow, thought Rachel, it's funny what the kindness of strangers can lead to.


	4. the one 'til death do us part

_I am writing this by popular demand, by the way, thanks for the great reviews you guys. (Jen, April and Katie, it means a lot) This may be a little odd, but try to visualise, it's called committing to the moment. (haha)_

The one 'til death do us part

Chandler was still kissing Rachel passionately when there was a knock at the door.

"It's probably the cops again" said Chandler. "It's open" he called, distracted by Rachel's kiss.. The door swung open. Standing there was Barry, angry as ever. Rachel screamed as he slammed the door. "Barry!, what are you doing?!?" she cried, terrified of him. She held on to Chandler for safety and he put his arm around her. Barry ran up to Rachel, trying to pull her away. Chandler pushed him away. "I won't let you hurt her anymore" he shouted, holding Rachel tight. "Oh yeah, well, once you're out of the way, I can hurt her all I want!" he shouted manically. Rachel was shaking in fear of a showdown. Barry was much bulkier than Chandler and pushed him hard. He fell to the floor, wincing in pain. He had pushed him so hard that Chandler had actually broken a rib, but he didn't care. He had to help Rachel, he thought. Barry grabbed Rachel, punching her in the jaw. Chandler leapt up, so angry that Barry could do that. He ran to Rachel, who was crying as her mouth filled with blood. He went to Barry, pushing him out of the door. Suddenly, Barry flipped round, brandishing a gun at him. He stumbled back to Rachel, who was holding her bloody mouth. He had most certainly broken her jaw and the blood was flowing down her chin. Rachel felt her heart stop. "Oh my God! Barry! Don't do it! It's not worth it! You'll get found out and be in jail all of your life" she shouted. "No way Rach, you see, once I kill you two, I'll just kill myself". Barry laughed in a psychotic way, which sent a chill down Chandler's spine. "Rachel" said Barry, coldly "I don't believe in divorce, okay? So if you want to be apart, then we'll have to do it my way. 'Til death do us part". He looked at Chandler and Rachel, who were shaking with fear. He gave a stifled chuckle. "Get on the floor!" he ordered, waving the gun around. Chandler swallowed hard. He fell to the cold lino floor of the kitchen area. Rachel fell do too, next him. She was icy cold, shaking with fear. He rubbed her shoulders to warm her up. Barry sat on the sofa. "Now, look, I'm gonna let you stew for a while, then I'll shoot, it'll be at anytime, so be warned". Rachel burst into a flood of silent tears on hearing this, and held onto Chandler for support. "No speaking , okay" warned Barry "unless you wanna eat metal". Chandler was thinking, he reached for Rachel's make-up bag. He pulled out an eyeliner pencil and a lipstick. He started to write a note to Rachel, it was explaining a plan. Rachel smiled, he was very inventive at times, she thought. She read the make-up writing:

Okay, Rachel, you ask to go to the bathroom. Jimmy open the window and climb out. Call the police and get away. I'll be okay, you have to go, call the police, they'll help us.

The plan was a little vague, but they didn't have time to waste. "Umm, Barry, can I go to the bathroom?" she asked, hoping he would say yes. "Sure, but I'm waiting outside, be quick". Rachel scurried to the bathroom and Chandler rubbed out his make-up message, smirking at the surrealism of the situation. Rachel turned on the taps and popped open the bathroom window. She climbed onto the balcony and done the fire escape. Chandler sat, praying she was okay.

After a few minutes, Barry realised what was going on. He pointed the gun at Chandler, asking where she was. "I don't know, we didn't speak, I mean you were listening, we didn't talk at all" he said, nervously. Barry nodded, lowering his gun. Chandler sat still. It had been 15 minutes since Rachel had escaped. There was a knock at the door. Chandler hoped it was a hostage negotiator or the cops. Chandler went to open the door, but Barry took a shot at it. He was really scared, so crawled behind the kitchen unit. There was a bang at the door. It was a cop team, banging down the door. They were wearing bullet proof jackets as they entered, guns blazing. They had guns pointing at Barry, as they told him to get down on the floor, hands behind his head. Chandler was crying tears of fears as they handcuffed Barry. They led him out, into a van waiting outside. Paramedics entered and put Chandler on a stretcher. They were treating him for shock and his injuries. Rachel was in the ambulance. He outstretched his hand, and she gripped it.

Two hands joined in love. Together forever. Joined. Forever.


End file.
